5 Things to Consider When Choosing Your Home Theater Projector

5 Things to Consider When Choosing Your Home Theater Projector

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5 Things to Consider When Choosing Your Home Theater Projector

 Recreating the theater experience is all about the big screen. Though there should be a lot of thought put into on your surround sound, room acoustics, and seating, the main thing people will focus on are the images projected on your screen. This is why it’s so important to choose the right projector when designing a home theater system for your Wayzata, Minnesota home. Here is a quick guide to choosing the right equipment and not falling into some common traps.

 Resolution: With more 4K Ultra HD content becoming available every day, you want to make sure your projector matches that resolution. With 4K resolution you can also sit closer to the screen without the image becoming pixelated, giving you added flexibility when designing your home theater system. 

Contrast Ratio: One of the most important factors in picture quality is contrast ratio. The contrast ratio is the difference between your whitest whites and deepest blacks. Don’t be tricked into buying a projector with the highest contrast ratio, though. Just raising the ratio can result in image blowouts and little nuance in color. The right projector lets you play around with the settings until your display looks just right. 

Brightness: This is another feature in which people often for fall the trap that bigger is always better. Brightness is calculated in lumens with projector options usually available between 1000 and 2500 lumens. Installing a high-lumen projector in a dedicated home theater system can result in image blowouts. For a dedicated theater, you likely want to stay between the 1,000-1,500 lumens range. For rooms with more ambient light—like a family room—you should have at least 1,500 lumens. 

Short Throw vs. Ceiling-Mount: Depending on the size and style of your home theater system, you can opt for a traditional ceiling-mount projector or a short-throw projector. Short-throw projectors are a great option for small rooms or designs in which clients would like the projector to be hidden. These projectors can be placed on a desk or media cabinet just a few feet from the screen. If possible, we recommend going with traditional medium or long-throw projectors which usually come with more features than their short-throw counterparts. 

Aspect Ratio: While projectors can adapt to the aspect ratio of your source video, they do have a native aspect ratio. This ratio is the one that matches the chip inside the projector. Images will look best when they match this ratio. So before you choose your projector, find out how you plan on using it. The standard for most UHD television programming and movies is a 16:9 aspect ratio. The safest best is to go with this ratio, with only older programming usually needing a crop to a 4:3 ratio.

One of the first steps in designing an impressive home theater system is choosing the right projector. Schedule an appointment with Lelch AV to figure out which is the best fit for your home.  

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